Skycoastin Steve

I drove by today around 4 and they had 6 bents up, which means they got two more done after that. This thing is going to take shape pretty quickly!

Ok just got back from taking some more pics at the park, and not only has Freedom Flyer gone vertical, White Lightning has, as well! Just in the last four days (since the update earlier on this page), lots more track and supports have shown up! A couple guys working on White Lightning supports. Tons more track on site! Seats have also arrived for Freedom Flyer! They've gotten a lot more done on White Lightning supports, too. This support is getting ready to be raised. The Enterprise also arrived earlier this week! The parts are all sitting in a field across the street, sure hope nobody messes with them. And we have vertical construction!! On both coasters! They were busy putting up the 2nd support of the day. They pretty much ramped this project up to Ludicrous Speed. The two coasters are going to be in fairly close proximity to one another. This is going to look awfully different in a few weeks. Anyone want to figure out what goes where? They've gotten the gravel all the way up to this building, which is almost the entire length of the ride. More poles have also gone up for the go-kart track expansion. The bottom of the turn around is leveled out and the foundation has been started. The top of the Skycoaster is all put together now. The artificial pond is pretty much done. One last overview, can't wait to see the progress over the next several weeks!

And I just drove by the park and vertical construction has begun on both coasters! Pictures to come later!

This is going to be quite the photogenic ride.

Is everyone ready for the weekly Fun Spot construction update? I am! These were taken Sunday, so there might have been a little more progress since then. Either way, here you go. We have coaster track on site! Nothing new at the front (back) gate. More supports have showed up though, and some funky looking ones, too. I'm not entirely sure what this is, but it's getting some serious acupuncture. Something tells me this isn't part of the theming. They've gotten lots more done with the support structure for White Lightning! I imagine it won't be long before we see this thing go vertical. I do like how the supports are white. Waiting patiently to be attached to footers. Thus ends the "coaster supports" portion of the update. They've finished the foundation for the White Lightning station. More work continues on the lift motor house. They've added more to the brackets on the footers since last time. This is what one looks like up close and personal. Still pouring the footers for the Vekoma. Lots and lots of progress has been done on White Lightning. Just a few weeks ago, half of these footers were barely finished! Electrical stuff. Another look at where the Vekoma will reside. I really like the gravel underneath the ride look. A lot better than just having weeds. One of the top pieces for the Skycoaster arch. They've also started building the go-kart track expansion. A little perspective on where the turn around is for White Lightning compared to everything else. Speaking of the turn around, the footers have made it there! Getting ready to put the foundation down here I'm sure. That's it for this update, so until next time, BE CAREFUL!

TPR trip in 2022?

You can't spell "No, it's overrated" without Nitro.

What he said. It might not be the best coaster per se, but it's my favorite.

Well that was a royal pain in the ass. Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,1 Millennium Force Cedar Point OH,y,n,2 Intimidator 305 Kings Dominion VA,y,n,3 Skyrush Hersheypark PA,y,y,4 Maverick Cedar Point OH,y,n,5 X2 Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,6 Bizarro SF New England MA,y,n,7 Storm Runner Hersheypark PA,y,y,8 Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH,y,n,9 Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point OH,y,n,10 Phantom's Revenge Kennywood Park PA,y,n,11 Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Will VA,y,y,12 Montu Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,y,13 Kumba Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,y,14 Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL,y,y,15 Intimidator Carowinds NC,y,n,16 Goliath Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,17 Diamondback Kings Island OH,y,n,18 Afterburn Carowinds NC,y,n,19 Chinese Fireball Islands of Adventu FL,y,y,20 Griffon Busch Gardens Will VA,y,y,21 SheiKra Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,y,22 Goliath La Ronde Parc Amus QC,y,n,23 Manta SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,y,24 Kraken SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,y,25 Nitro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,26 Tatsu Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,27 Cheetah Hunt Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,y,28 Alpengeist Busch Gardens Will VA,y,y,29 Titan Six Flags Over Tex TX,y,n,30 Silver Bullet Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,n,31 Superman - Ride of St Six Flags America MD,y,n,32 Sky Rocket Kennywood Park PA,y,n,33 Talon Dorney Park PA,y,n,34 Goliath Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,35 Volcano: The Blast Co Kings Dominion VA,y,n,36 Superman:Krypton Cstr Six Flags Fiesta T TX,y,n,37 Wicked Twister Cedar Point OH,y,n,38 Revenge of the Mummy Universal Studios FL,y,y,39 Wild Eagle Dollywood TN,y,y,40 Steel Force Dorney Park PA,y,n,41 Dominator Kings Dominion VA,y,n,42 Riddler's Revenge Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,43 Mr. Freeze Reverse Bl Six Flags St. Loui MO,y,n,44 Mr. Freeze Reverse Bl Six Flags Over Tex TX,y,n,45 Mystery Mine Dollywood TN,y,y,46 Kingda Ka Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,47 Possessed Dorney Park PA,y,n,48 Raptor Cedar Point OH,y,n,49 Hungarian Horntail Islands of Adventu FL,y,y,50 Mindbender Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,51 Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks **,y,n,52 Expedition Everest Disney Animal King FL,y,y,53 Verbolten Busch Gardens Will VA,y,y,54 Fahrenheit Hersheypark PA,y,n,55 Hydra the Revenge Dorney Park PA,y,n,56 Green Lantern Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,57 Gemini Cedar Point OH,y,n,58 Bizarro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,59 Patriot Worlds of Fun MO,y,n,60 Steel Eel SeaWorld San Anton TX,y,n,61 Space Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL,y,y,62 Tennessee Tornado Dollywood TN,y,y,63 Mantis Cedar Point OH,y,n,64 Georgia Scorcher Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,65 Scream! Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,66 Batman - Dark Knight SF New England MA,y,n,67 Rock n Roller Coaster Disney's H Studios FL,y,y,68 Superman – Ultimate F Six Flags Parks **,y,n,69 Mamba Worlds of Fun MO,y,n,70 Joker's Jinx Six Flags America MD,y,n,71 Flight of Fear Kings Dominion VA,y,n,72 Flight of Fear Kings Island OH,y,n,73 Poltergeist Six Flags Fiesta T TX,y,n,74 Great Bear Hersheypark PA,y,y,75 Hollywood Rip Ride Ro Universal Studios FL,y,y,76 Fav Eurofighter 320+ Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,77 Scandia Screamer Scandia Family Fun CA,y,n,78 Backlot Stunt Coaster Kings Island OH,y,n,79 Loch Ness Monster Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,80 Viper Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,81 Anaconda Kings Dominion VA,y,n,82 Fav Windstorm Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,83 Journey to Atlantis SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,y,84 Shockwave Six Flags Over Tex TX,y,n,85 Revolution Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,86 Fav Schw Shuttle loop Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,87 Fav Motocoaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,88 Backlot Stunt Coaster Kings Dominion VA,y,n,89 Vortex Carowinds NC,y,n,90 Firehawk Kings Island OH,y,n,91 Sierra Sidewnder Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,n,92 Fav Gerstlauer Spinn. Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,93 Fav Vekoma Invertigo Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,94 Sooperdooperlooper Hersheypark PA,y,n,95 Fav X SC2000 Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,96 Exterminator Kennywood Park PA,y,n,97 Superman The Escape Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,98 Big Thunder Mountain WDW Magic Kingdom FL,y,n,99 Fav Loop. Star/S.Arr. Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,100 Avalanche Kings Dominion VA,y,n,101 Crossbow Bowcraft NJ,y,n,102 Skull Mountain Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,103 Nighthawk Carowinds NC,y,n,104 Batwing Six Flags America MD,y,n,105 Fav Zamperla Volare Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,106 Fav Loop-Screw Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,107 Fav Arrow Mine Train Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,108 Flight Deck Kings Island OH,y,n,109 Fav Wildcat Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,110 Fav Intamin Bobsled Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,111 Fav Vek Susp Family Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,112 Vortex Kings Island OH,y,n,113 Ninja Six Flags St. Loui MO,y,n,114 Santa Monica West Coa Pacific Park CA,y,n,115 Fav Vekoma Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,116 Fav Arrow Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,117 Fav Vek Susp Loop SLC Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,118 Fav Wild Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,119 Fav Mack Supersplash Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,120 Iron Dragon Cedar Point OH,y,n,121 Fav Spinning Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,122 Dark Knight Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,123 Fav Galaxi Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,124 Fav Flitzer Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,125 Le Cobra La Ronde Parc Amus QC,y,n,126 Fav Vekoma Boomerang Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,127 Fav Tivoli Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,128 Fav Zyklon Loop Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,129 Fav Powered `Coaster' Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,130 Ninja Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,131 Pirates Hideaway Casino Pier NJ,y,n,132 Shockwave Kings Dominion VA,y,n,133 Fav Chance Toboggan Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,134

As promised, here are the latest pics of progress on the expansion. They've gotten quite a bit done since the last update, but I'm still pretty skeptical about a June opening. These were taken on Saturday, so it's entirely possible that more progress has been made. Either way, enjoy! Wood you look at that! Hopefully no one steels these supports. Ok, puns are over. Here's what they've done so far on the new entrance. As you can see, they've also paved the new parking lot. Junior Vekoma Hang-n-Bang supports! Lots of steel starting to show up for White Lightning's support structure. Some of it even already seems to be pre-built. I predict that many more of these will show up. These guys are working on the concrete for Freedom Fighter. These little connectors have started showing up on the footers for White Lightning. See? Progress, thy name is White Lightning! More footers going up for Freedom Fighter. It's hard to tell, but there's a sizable hole dug around the entire area for the ride. I guess the footers need to go pretty deep. You can sorta tell how deep it is here. As of two weeks ago, none of these footers were here or even close to being poured. Cutting it pretty close with this building here. Two weeks ago, this building was a concrete pad. This was just a grass hill the last update, they've now started pouring the foundation for the coaster's supports to come down the hill. And you can still see the stakes where the supports will be for the turnaround. Mmmmmmm........steak. And it's impossible to tell just how MASSIVE these pieces of the Skycoaster are. I'm fairly certain I could stand inside them with room to spare, and I'm 6'5". It will regain its claim as the largest lattice arch Skycoaster in the world when it's completed. Can't wait to ride this one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCX3ZNDZAwY

Drove by Fun Spot and took more pics today, steel has also arrived for the support structure of White Lightning and a LOT more work has been done since my last update two weeks ago. Pics will probably be up in the next day or so.

This would pretty much be the only thing worse than every park on Earth closing down simultaneously.

Everyone ready for a Fun Spot update with some substance?? Time to check out Fun Spot's expansion progress! Here's an overview of what will be installed. Looks like they've started piecing together parts of the Skycoaster and it's about to go vertical! Here is one of the foundations for one side of the arch. They've also got the building that will be under the Skycoaster started. I guess the launch platform will be on the back of this building (to the right). In the background you can see the giant hole they have dug for the lake that will be in the center of the expansion, you'll swing out over it on the Skycoaster! Here is about the middle section of the "out" portion of White Lightning. They have the strips of concrete down, but no footers yet. But that doesn't mean they haven't been pouring footers! Footers ahoy! It's a hard goodbye for the footers and their molds. As we move further up the street, we see that they've done lots of work on the footers towards where the first drop is. They've "landscaped" under the ride all the way up through the lift hill/first drop. Seems like they're taking it section by section down the length of the ride (as you'll see more later). Here's the view from the end of the property, can't wait to see this coaster go up! This is the new ticket building that will be at the "back" entrance of the park once everything is done. Looks like not much has been done where the Vekoma Junior SLC will be. Gotta wonder when they'll start building that. The little "S" curve you see there on the right portion of the picture is where White Lightning will make its final turn into the brakes. They've started the foundation of the station for White Lightning! This is the little turnaround from the final brakes to the loading station. And that will be the new parking lot. Not sure what this building will be, maybe a motor house for the lift? Or an electrical building? Something like that. And now we're back down on the other end of the layout, still tons of work to be done on the foundation/footers. This is as far as they've dug to this point, no concrete has been poured. The turnaround is just past this point to the right. Just waiting on the concrete. If you look closely, you can see the pink markers showing the reach of the turnaround, so it's going to be fairly close to that go-kart track. I guess we can classify this as a terrain coaster, amiright?? So it looks like they've gotten some good progress done so far, but I highly, highly, HIGHLY doubt that this expansion will be done by June. I mean, miracles happen, but they've got quite a lot left to do and only five months to do it. They're doing a good job getting a lot of stuff done during the dry season, but once spring hits, they better hope they have a majority of it finished, otherwise rain will slow this project WAY down.

Not every yearly addition needs to be a "destination" attraction. CP has done a pretty fantastic job diversifying their ride and attraction collection in the last 10 years so they aren't just known as a "coaster park."

This is the portion of the program where I say I left all SBNO/torn down coasters off my list. I understand the reason to keep them on, but if it's obvious it'll never operate ever again, I'm not ranking it. And it's a bummer, too, because that means Rampage is no longer in my top 10.

^I'm envisioning a game where you shoot various mobsters and the prize is a canoli. Name of the game? "Leave the Gun, Take the Canoli."

The paint around the splashdown area has looked REALLY bad for a long time now. I was there on Jan. 2 and it was pretty rusted/chipped/faded. Glad they're taking care of it.

As much of a fan of the LOTR series as I am, I don't see how very much of it could translate to a theme park. I think a stand-alone park recreating Middle Earth would be amazing, but I don't exactly think it would be that great ride wise. BUT the tower with Sauron's eye would be pretty awesome.

^ T**** B********** is on the same level as Lord V******** as "those names we do not speak."

I think if a trim is added to this ride, in order to curtail the inevitable bitching and moaning about the trims, a new word filter should be put in place for trims. How about "cookies"? I think that would be fantastic, a roller coaster with cookies!

Um. YOLO?

One really good thing about these rides is the head/foot choppers, and it looks like that first drop and the Immelmann have plenty to go around.